#23 A&M Opens Mary Nutter Classic with 8-5 Win over BYU

Friday, February 20

Cathedral City, Calif.

12:00 PM

Texas A&M

8-4

BYU

7-6

Texas A&M

BYU

Feb 20, 2015 | Softball

Box Score

By: Texas A&M Athletics

CATHEDRAL CITY, Calif. – Senior Rachel Fox threw a complete-game as the 23rd-ranked Texas A&M softball team (8-4) downed BYU (7-6), 8-5 Friday on the first day of the Mary Nutter Classic.

Fox (5-3) gave up just five runs on twelve hits and one walk while fanning ten batters through seven innings of work in the circle. Sophomore April Ryan was 2-for-4 on the game with three RBIs and two runs on the day.

The Aggies took a 4-0 lead in the first inning that would hold until the fifth. A leadoff single to third base put senior Brittany Clopton on first and junior Alex Masek followed with a single of her own on a short ball that fell in front of the pitcher. With freshman Tori Vidales at the plate, a throwing error by BYU moved Clopton and Masek into scoring position. Another throwing error at third base let Vidales reach first to load the bags.

A two RBI double down the right field line by sophomore April Ryan brought the runners on second and third base home, leaving the Aggies with Vidales on third and Ryan on second with a two run lead. The final hit of the inning came from junior Cali Lanphear, a ball straight to right center for a two RBI single and a 4-0 Aggie lead. Lanphear was stranded at first after two final outs.

Neither team could get any offense going in the next three innings. The Aggies recorded three hits over that time, singles from Clopton and sophomore Reagan Boenker and a double from Masek. Fox and the defense played lights out, allowing only four hits over the first four innings.

Texas A&M put two more on the board in the top of the fifth, scoring two on three hits. An RBI single to right field from Lanphear sent Ryan speeding home while a single up the middle from freshman Ashley Walters called Lanphear home soon after.

Leading 6-0, the Aggies gave up three runs on four hits in the bottom of the fifth. The Cougars scored on a two RBI single and a fielder's choice but Fox stepped up and shut down the attack with a strikeout, forcing BYU to strand a runner.

The Aggies extended their lead to 7-3 in the top of the sixth, after Clopton came home on a fly ball to center field by Ryan. BYU continued chipping into the lead, scoring on an RBI single to left center field and bringing to game to a 7-4 score.

A&M scored its final run of the game in the top of the seventh. Sophomore Abby Donnell, on to pinch hit for junior Breanna Dozier, doubled to left field and was joined on the bases by Walters after she singled to shortstop. Cuyos hit a hard ball to center field that BYU managed to get under for the first out but Donnell took advantage and sped home for the eighth Aggie run of the game.

In the bottom of the eighth, an RBI single from BYU put one runner across but afterwards two more Cougars fell in quick fashion and the Aggies took home the 8-5 victory.

Let's Hear a Hullabaloo…
… for the Ks on Ks on Ks. Senior pitcher Rachel Fox had a season high ten strikeouts in her fifth win and complete game of the season. Fox leads the team in innings pitched and strikeouts, with 49.1 and 41, respectively. Gig 'em, Rachel!

Up Next
The Aggies face UCSB and Cal State Fullerton on their second day at the Mary Nutter Classic, with the first pitch coming at 11:30 a.m. and their second game of the day getting underway at 5 p.m.. Follow along with live stats at 12thMan.com and @AggieSoftball on Twitter for all the hits, pitches and everything in between during the 2015 softball season.